A pretty basic question....

[oi0i]

Hey guys, this is my 1st post so apologies if this is covering old ground.

In the last 5-6 months I started using the gym, I'd always been borderline underweight and found it difficult to gain. Anyway, I've gone from 153lb to my target which was 175. That isnt huge at 6'2 but thats where I want to be.

The thing is, I guess about half of what I've gained is fat, so what I want to do next is maintain the 175 but cut the %fat which has gone from about 20 up to 24%. I guess I'd like to get it done to about 15% which seems reasonable.

Problem here is that I have always played competitive soccer and am strong cardiovascular (sp?) wise so as hard as it was for me to gain, the chances are if I dont know what I'm doing I'm going to lose any muscle I've gained and end up looking like a skinny-fat guy !

I work out at least 3, usually 4x a week on top of an hour of futsol and a proper soccer match. If I can make practise, which is often hard to do due to work commitments then thats 7 days a week I'm doing something.

Like I say I'm a complete amateur so please try to avoid acronyms, I have no idea what most of them mean !!

[Ross86]

Keep your protein intake very high while you're doing a recomposition. 40/40/20 (pro/carb/fat) should be a good macronutrient ratio for you. Because you're so active, your maintenance calories will be pretty high. You can figure that out on your own. Just lose slowly...no 3 or 4 lbs/week for you.

[triqqey]

If you're 6'2" @ 175 lbs and 24% bodyfat playing lots of soccer and lifting weights, then you really need to take a look at your diet. Either that, or it sounds like you have some sort of metabolism defect. At that height/weight/activity level ratio, 24% sounds really high.
Best advice: keep your current activity level, possibly mix in a totally new workout routine if you've been on your current one for a while, and read up on healthy eating habits.

[_Wolf_]

^^^ sounds like a muscle mag article

j/k